Water, Capes and Hiking

[And the countdown for Japan begins.  In 9 days I will be on a plane to Japan for one week of uninterrupted vacation time.  NO itty bitties.  NO schedules to make.  NO playing referee to who put glue in whose hair.  Just Japan, my girls and me.]

#116.  It is rare for most Koreans to use soap when washing their hands.  For some reason they think that using water will kill whatever germs are on their hands.  Maybe this is why I do not drink Korean tap water.  If it can kill germs I want no part of it.

#117. Koreans absolutely hate the rain.  Now, I dislike the rain as much as the next person but God forbid it rains in Korea.  Out come the oversized umbrellas.  Running as fast as humanly possible to get out of the rain (in high heals mind you).  Constantly checking their hair to make sure it is still stick straight and coiffed correctly.  No thank you.  I will use an umbrella but if I get wet so be it.  It's just  water folks.We're not in the Wizard of Oz.  Melting is not a side effect.

#118. The majority of the Korean population can't swim.  Let me give you an example.  Over the weekend we went hiking and ended up at a waterfall where the boys took a casual swim.  The water was as deep as any average pool.  Some shallow parts.  Some deep parts.  As the boys waded further in where they could no longer touch the bottom the Korean onlookers (yes we always draw a crowd) started screaming for them to get out.  "No Swimming!  Danger!  Get out!"  Well to all of you scardy-cat Koreans, maybe we foreigners learned how to swim when we were babies and can doggie paddle just fine.  Until you see us flailing our arms for help just continue watching in awe as to how the crazy foreigners can remain alive while submerged in water.  Thanks.

#119.  Korean women wear full makeup, leg warmers, tights and even the casual cape to the gym.  It's sort of a bad throwback to the 80's that now incorporates the desire to be a super hero while hitting the treadmill.  Korean style exercising at its finest.

So as #118 said I went hiking over the weekend.  Not only did I go hiking but I did it in flip flops.  With a newly healed ankle.  Not my brightest move.  When we were planning on going for a day trip to a few temples and waterfalls I naively assumed that it was a casual walk where flip flops would be acceptable.   2 hours later at the second waterfall I realized just how wrong I was.  It was unbelievably worth it (pretty sure the pictures prove that) but my legs have never been as sore as they were the following day.

Tip of the day:  When you are going to participate in an activity that remotely SOUNDS athletic wear tennis shoes.

The 2nd waterfall

The boys taking turns doing dives

Tim testing his lucky by jumping off of a 30ft cliff

Beautiful temples everywhere

A wishing tree--the black tablets at the base is a wishing tablet.
Whatever you write down, the monks of the temples will pray for you.

Gorgeous temple

A Buddha tucked up in one of the hills of a trail